The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-10-01
CONFEDERATE MONEY Y
DOES NOT 40 As LEGAL TENDER.

q 81
DOES NOT 90 AS LEGAL TENDER.
Judge jackson Renders an Interesting Dc.
cision in a Case Involving the validity
n, of q Payment in Confederate Cur.
*. ronoy-A History of the Case. S'D
The United States District Court nd.
journed yeuterday forenoon to meet next
week IN Clarksburg. AT yesterdays SEES.
zion Judge jackson delivered All e1haus.
tive opinion In the case Of 0plo verlua
Cas!leman, the main point ct issue being
tho validity Of payments in Confederate
Currency on acoutrac. made prior to the
war. Col. Robert White represented the
plnintlE and Mesars. Ma,ahall McOor.
mick and Il. T. Burton, Of Virginia, the
defendant. Tho story Of tho case Ia con.
clsely told in tho opinion, which iollows:
IN The district court Of tie United States. Dis.
iricl Of Iyfsi Virginia. Y
opie "a. Castleuian., In equity. -. :.
In 1856 Hiram L. OpIe, the ancestor Of
the plaintiff, sold 10 Horny ". Cssllsman,
now deceased, q tract Of land In Jefferson
county, then in tho State Of Virginia, now
Went Virginia, for the sum Of I'll, 1883 Go,
\ $4,000 cash In hand and tho balance In
deferred ins.allments, evidenced by notes
bearing date January l, 1856, tho frat for
Sc, 900, due January /, 1867, tho second for
81, GOO, payable January /, 1868. and ak
other noles for 49, 22 I'll, payable 70.
spec!ively January /, 1860, 1860, 1851, 1862,
1868, 1864, oil bearing intereet from date.
Shortly after tho ealo Of bis land lie moved
to Augusta county, Va, thon and over
since q county In tbs State Of Virginia,
where ha resided until his death in 1882.
At tho time OF the sale deed conveying
the. property was mede by the vondor to
the purchaser, and decd Of trust was OK.
ecuted by the purchaser upon the land
conveyed 10 secure the payment Of the
unpaid purchase money. Whom the
grantor Died there remained unpaid OF the
purchaae money four bonds each for the
aum Of 1902 q due and payable the frat
day Of January, 1861, 1852, 1858 and 1864,
respectively, 1t being conceded that the
interest was paid up 10 January, 1901.
In 1861 certain S.atos, afterwards known
as the Confederate States, aeceded from
the Union, whereby war oncued between
tho United States and the so.callea Con.
iedera.e states, and during the, war the
county OF Jefferson was for the most Of
tho time in the military posscesion Of the
UaitedStases, while tho county Of Augusta
during the came period wau mostly In tho
military possession OF the so.callel Con.
federats States. In 1SGSths State Of Weat
Virginia waBs created, whereby Jetferaon
county became part Of that State. In
November, 1867, tho widow OF the de.
ceased and Thomss L. Opie qualiGsd ns
persona! representatives, OF ths estate Of
the decadsnt. Late in the year 1862 Gas.
tlemsn, knowing thero lwas dus on the
purchase money OF the bond which had
matured January /, 1861, and on the bond
to fall due in Janusfy, 1852, eomeihipR
over $1,000, with unpaid 5inteTest, got TO-
gethor notes OF the Confederate Staten and
Virginia bank. notes sufficient to psy oil
the notes payable. January, 1881 and 1862,
and crossed tho military lines into the
Confederate States and found Mrs. O pie,
one Of the peroonai representatives, and
paid of aud discharged the notes Of 1861
and 1862 with Confederate money, which
at the time was greatly deprecated. Sub.
lsequF1tly Castleman psid and discharged
thei 90 that fell duo in Jsnuary, 1888
and 1oG4, in the same kind oftepreciated
currency. At the tims tho payments were
made Mary and John, heirs Of the dece.
dent, were unaor Gge, and the plaiutiisin
this action was absent from hons sud hes
not ratified the action Of the personal rep.
rszantstiyo Of tbs estate. In 1865 re-.
lesss IVES executed by thu trustee in The
deed Of trust, upon tho req1est of Mira.
Opis, adm!nissrstr;x Of tbs es.e.c.a This
estate Of the decsden. was not in debt,
snd the greater part Of the money which
came iato the hands OF the personal repre-.
aentctiye5 was invested in bonds OF the
Confederate stctes. a q u
Thee are substantially the facts Of the
case, and the question that iprePeIts ;taali
for the consideration oil tho court is, wore
the Payments made on a contract entered
into before the war and which OF the time
were to be discharged by the lawful money
Of the United States, sasisied and cxtin-
enished By the payments made to tie
tlduciarieB in deprecated currency. DE-
Ills 10 be borne IN mind TINT the ra!a.
ton Of q hduoicry to the estate he repre-
cents ia very different FROM sEstt CT the de-.
csdent If living. The latter could exe,.
eiss unlimited discretion to do 90 he saw
proper III accepting es payment Of o debt
due him sny currency passing TO- money,
however deprecated, while tho former,
acting in fiduciary capacity, would be
required to exercise the aoundest diecre.
ton. a pafaonai Representative must act
in good faith with the es!Ite ho has In
charge. It Ia his duty to loot after the
eatate, preserve it from waste sud protect
1t from unnecessary expenditure.
Z In the Gaze bofoye rs thoro 10 no charge
OF neglect OF the property OF the usual
charge OF waste connected with its i'd
minirtra!ion. The heirs In this INSTANCE
who are asserting their rights iii this &C.
ton did not ask for . distribution of its
assets, two OF them being minors and the
other absent from bone mos. Of the time.
It does not appear that thsy ccnranted or
acquiesced in the action. Of the personal
representatives, Moreover the dabsor va.
not pressed OF required to pay the money.
On the contrary he seemed to have put
himself to unusual trouble to secure the
funds with which to pay the dsbts due
the estate in deprecated currency the
greater portion Of which he had to Dor
row and which only bad q purchasing
power Of ono.third Of ita face vslqe. This
attempt to pay and discharge tho debt was
made outside OF the military lines Of tho
United States to satisfy DEBT fully socur-
ed upon landa inside tho Federal lines, in
acurrency not only unauthorized by tho
lawg of the land In which the contract
was made and where the dobt was proper
" payble, bnt tho proceeds were invented
in the bonds OF tie Confederate States,
Issued TOR the ayowed purpose Of waginy
war against the United States. For Ibis
Yaasn1 Iya ara ineiinea "a Aha onininr ALak